This thread will be a repository for showing off monsters that I wrote up for my blogamajog, Dragons In Dungeons, at least the ones that are public and not set to patrons only.
To start us off:
FROG-SOTHOTH!
Okay, so not quite Frog-Sothoth. Really just a bigger, badder froghemoth, a D&D monster that it was a wonderful surprise to see appear in Volo's Guide to Monsters considering the obscurity of its origins (a certain 1980 module I'm a big big fan of).
My latest "bright idea" that ten people have probably done before and better, Project Dominaria, is a go.
I have decided to stat at least 25 monsters, legendary monsters, and legendary NPCs from the Dominaria expansion of Magic The Gathering. Then, if that goes well, I will go way back chronologically to some of the first Magic sets ever, which were set in Dominaria, which was originally THE (only) setting of Magic The Gathering, now set across at least a dozen or so planes.
I decided to do this because: 1) I really want to try to see if I can maintain a schedule of posting a little content every day. Every. Single. Day. A single monster writeup might be just the right "size" to achieve that goal. 2) It would be cool to create a Dominaria campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (I'm sure there is already at least one out there that's already been created by fans, but I just won't look at it and mine will be different), since Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica is a thing. BUT that's a huge project best tackled in small bites. Those small bites can start here. 3) It's another way to get more value of my magic cards which I have spent way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way too much money on this year alone, let alone over the course of my life, while learning more about magic lore and refining my grasp on Fifth Edition mechanics (there have been no complaints, but a lack of feedback doesn't necessarily translate to perfect output, it may just correlate with lack of audience).
Now, to quickly power through the necessary caveats, I don't own Magic The Gathering any more than I own D&D, both are wholly owned by Wizards of the Coast, this is purely a fan work, I don't own the rights to the art on the cards in the Dominaria set or the Dominaria IP itself and I don't want to take credit for designing the cards which were designed by WotC's R&D division (if I'm not mistaken). We'll begin with the Academy Drake, as we're doing one for each letter of the alphabet.*
Save me from getting in trouble for double posting by giving me some feedback lol! To some degree, I'm doing this because I want feedback (which is not saying I want a verbally eviscerating critique, I've had a few of those, no more, thank you). So ja. Hopefully I keep posting every day and there will be more to comment on quickly that way. Bye-ee.
* "But earlier, you said-"
Yes, I know. I'm assuming that, without having checked mind you, they'll miss x or y or z. But if they hit every letter so will I (no matter how cramped my selection window grows).
Benalia is a powerful nation with a long history on the continent of Aerona on Dominaria. It was conquered during the Phyrexian Invasion and held for the duration of the war. After the war it recovered, and became the mercantile and military power sometimes referred to as New Benalia.
To Climb The Mountain of Honor. From the ashes of the Sheoltun Empire, shortly after the Ice Age, would rise Benalia. The knight Torsten von Ursus founded Benalia at the spot of the blighted city of Benfosa which he took to be a perfect place to implement his gathered wisdom and philosophies. He took up the reins of the great Horse Civilization and guided the ancestors of Benalia out of the ruins of the once-great Sheoltun Empire. Torsten chose the name Benalia, which meant "aspiration", proclaiming the new nation's intent to rule the world.
Using sometimes-brutal tactics, Torsten brought an entire nation into being using nothing more than the force of his will and the brutal charisma of a natural leader. After succeeding in much of his goal, he died at the age of seventy-two, leaving behind the legendary Lost Edict, proclaiming that none of his seven lieutenants would succeed him as sole ruler of Benalia. Instead, Benalia would be ruled via a complex system in which the seven clans of the country each bore a different responsibility.
Seven Houses Alike In Dignity.... The Council of Seven is the ruling body of Benalia, made up of the leaders of the seven house or their representatives. Each lunar year sees the the rotation of the Ranking, the official hierarchy of among the houses. The higest ranking house becomes the lowest and the second highest attains the highest rank. Some official functions are filled according to the Ranking.
The Seven Great Houses are the primary unit of government within. Most of these date back approximately 1000 years to the Lost Edict, but at least three houses have fallen by the wayside and have been replaced with a new noble line established by a prominent heroic figure. One of the house that has disappeared is that of Clan Ternsev.
House Capashen The strongest and richest house, ruling the north of Benalia. Current leader: Aron Capashen. Symbol: a tower with seven windows.
House Avenant A matriarchal family ruling the Isle of Avenant. Current leader: Cerise D'Avenant. Symbol: a pattern of seven crossed arrows.
House Croger A family of rugged individualists and expansionists from eastern Benalia who are still adherents of the Church of Angelfire. Current leader: Eadith Croger. Symbol: profile of a wolf's head with seven pointed teeth.
House Rosecot a military clan guarding the grain fields of southeastern Benalia. Current leader: Alvan Rosecot. Symbol: a rose with seven thorns.
House Tarmula A family of of scholars and wizards living on the wooded shores of Lake Tarmula in central Benalia. Current leader: Rache Tarmula. Symbol: a seven-pointed star.
House Deniz A family of naval traders and merchants, originally from Oneah. They live along the western coast. Current leader: Jerek Deniz. Symbol: a conical seashell with seven twists.
House Joryev A secretive house living on the southwestern coast, with possible ties to the Cabal. Current leader: Aveya Joryev. Symbol: a ring with seven keys.
Paragons of White Mana. A powerful military state influenced by the Churches of Serra and Gabriel Angelfire, Benalia has long been Dominaria's preeminent white-aligned human nation, and was the birthplace of Gerrard Capashen, one of Dominaria's greatest heroes.
Battle-Scarred Champions of Humanity. The Phyrexian Invasion began with sporadic raids on the Benalish borderlands with the ultimate goal to destroy the bloodline of Clan Capashen, which had been prophesied to bring about the destruction of Yawgmoth. When the invasion reached its peak in 4205 AR, Benalia City was razed, and its people scattered.
Over the course of the next three centuries, Benalia devolved into a patchwork of competing states. When the time rifts opened, the land was plagued by dust storms and catastrophes. The states devolved into roving bands struggling to survive in a barren wasteland of salt flats whipped by unforgiving winds. What remained of Benalia City was besieged by slivers, and became a salt-choked ruin.
After the Mending, the seven houses were quick to reassert themselves. Those who could most reliably trace their lineage to the ancient clans took charge. In the ruins of Benalia City, under the blessing of Serran priests, they forged the Compact of the Seven Pillars in emulation of the Lost Edict, laying out how power would be shared. Using the white limestones of fallen buildings, the city was rebuilt as New Benalia. The Church of Serra was officially embraced as the official religion of the state.
So, I totally didn't NOT forget my password and get locked out of my account and then find out the e-mail associated with it no longer exists because it was at a web domain that no longer exists...
This is Devon/ParanoydStyle/that jerk. I made a fair amount of FREE D&D CONTENT since I posted here last. Here you go:
Kenku Deathsquad - they're effectively a deleted scene from my Greyhawk campaign (my PCs dropped one of several optional subplot threads that would have lead them to fight these guys).
"The Hunter" (Patrons Only) - If you ever wanted a really comprehensive write-up of the Predator from the movie Predator (1987) in D&D so you could terrify your players with the ORIGINAL* Invisible Stalker, here it be.
"Pregenitus Hydra" - byproduct of my Greyhawk campaign, four fairly well optimized mostly roughly around 9th level pregen PCs you can use as pregens or as canned NPCs. I personally am of the opinion one can never have too many canned NPCs. High Elf Eldritch Knight/Sorcerer, Knight background (specifically a knightly order of the Faerie Kingdom of Celene), Karvod the Unlikely, Dwarven College of War bard, a pyromaniac gnome Evoker, and finally Magnus of the Old Ways, a human Circle of the Land (Forest) Druid.
